Israeli Youth Basketball Stars Eye College Careers and European Opportunities

The Israeli under-18 national basketball team was eliminated from the European Championship after a 95-87 loss to Slovenia on July 30, 2026, but still has a chance to qualify for the World Championship through upcoming classification games. Attention now turns to the team’s top prospects and their next steps in basketball development.

David Moses, regarded as one of Israel’s top young talents, has committed to Florida Atlantic University, a smaller NCAA Division I program that did not reach the college tournament last year. His agent, Hanoch Mintz, explained the strategy was to start at a smaller school and progress upward.

Aviv Aronov, who played last season at Huntington Prep in West Virginia, a school known for preparing players for college basketball, will join Eastern Michigan University next season. He moved to the U.S. with his younger brother Tom.

Omri Orland, 16, one of the youngest players in the tournament, is expected to continue leading Israel’s youth teams. He plays for Hapoel Emek Hefer and scored 12 points per game in the EuroLeague Next Gen tournament earlier this year, which was halted due to tensions with Iran.

Other notable prospects include Rom Stoller, a 16-year-old Maccabi Tel Aviv youth player who scored 17 points in the round of 16 and helped lead his youth team to a double championship. Oren Trushkin, playing for Hapoel Gilboa Galil, was invited to the EuroLeague Next Gen tournament and received an offer in February to train with Serbian club Mega from top agent Mishko Raznatovic. Last season, Trushkin averaged 17.9 points and 9.6 rebounds per game.

These players represent the future of Israeli basketball as they transition to college and professional opportunities abroad and domestically.